Drivetime Sports

Pelphrey adds Madden as Fifth Early Signee

11/12/2010 12:35 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas men’s basketball signing class went from four to five on Friday when Rashad “Ky” Madden of Lepanto, Ark., signed his National Letter of Intent completing a recruiting class that is ranked among the nation’s elite.

Madden, a 6-5 point guard who is a consensus top 30 player by the major recruiting ranking services, averaged 20 points-per-game as a junior and led the Arkansas Wings in their march to the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) national championship last summer. For Madden’s efforts he was named the most valuable player for the 204-team tournament.

“All great teams have great leadership at the point guard position,” Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey said. “Ky is a tremendous competitor who has been able to lead his team to win at every level. A long time ago I developed a great affection for Ky’s understanding of the game, his ability to read defenses and his understanding of game management. He has a great basketball mind, beyond his years and because of his tremendous size at that position, that in itself is a unique weapon.”

Rivals.com has Madden ranked highest as the No. 27 overall player and No. 6 point guard in the nation. ESPN has the East Poinsett County High School guard as the No. 29 overall player and No. 10 shooting guard while Scout.com has him as the No. 30 overall player and No. 10 shooting guard. He is considered a four-star recruit by each service.

With Madden joining former Arkansas Wings teammates Aaron Ross (6-7, forward) and Hunter Mickelson (6-10, forward), Devonta Abron (6-8, forward) and B.J. Young (6-3, guard), the Razorbacks have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. ESPN has the Razorbacks at No. 4 as of Nov. 11 behind Kentucky, Duke and St. Johns and ahead of schools like North Carolina, Louisville, Texas and Arizona. Rivals.com also has Arkansas with the No. 4 recruiting class with Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina ahead of the Razorbacks.

For more information regarding Razorback men’s basketball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.